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- 177Lutetium PSMA has given me hope and the confidence to enjoy my life while I can
177Lutetium PSMA has given me hope and the confidence to enjoy my life while I can
Retired architect and master planner Denver was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011. At the time, this was confined to his prostate, but in August 2023 he was given the devastating news his cancer had spread and was no longer responding to conventional treatments such as radiotherapy and hormone therapy.
“Since my diagnosis I’d been having treatment at our local hospital in Manchester, but when my wife and I moved to the Cotswolds in 2022, I began to find the travel for my regular reviews quite tiring. It was suggested I see someone more locally and I was referred to Professor Andrew Protheroe at the GenesisCare centre in Oxford.
“Professor Protheroe is a great communicator and always keeps me fully informed. When my PSA levels started to rise again in 2023, I felt calm as I trusted him and knew he’d tell me the best way forward. We discussed chemotherapy but that wasn’t a route I wanted to go down because of the side effects.
At that point he suggested I speak with his colleague Dr Yong Du at the GenesisCare centre in Windsor about 177Lutetium PSMA therapy”.
177Lutetium PSMA therapy aims to reduce the size and progress of prostate cancers which have spread throughout the body and become resistant to other treatments, to ease symptoms and maintain or improve a patient’s quality of life.
“By coincidence I’d read about an 80’s pop star having this treatment and how it had extended his life by several years, so he could continue writing his music, which sounded good to me!”
A PSMA PET-CT scan confirmed Denver was a suitable candidate for this highly personalised cancer treatment, and he had 6 cycles, one every six weeks, in Windsor.
The success of this treatment lies in the fact it’s enabling me to maintain a good quality of life and the time to embrace the things I love!
“My treatment team at the GenesisCare centre in Windsor were great, they helped me feel relaxed, and were fun to be with. They were very co-ordinated, had a great sense of humour, which I think’s an essential part of health management, and importantly they knew what they were doing.
I had to have regular blood tests which I could have done at my GP surgery, but I wanted to keep everything in one place and was able to have them done at the GenesisCare Centre in Oxford which was a shorter journey from home.
Denver continues “Because of the type of treatment 177Lutetium PSMA therapy is, there were some radiation safety precautions to follow after each treatment, but they weren’t much bother and weren’t for long. Thankfully I didn’t experience any side effects, other than a dry mouth. I also noticed my body strength had returned and I no longer struggled to get out of the bath and generally felt better in myself.
GenesisCare provided complementary transport to and from my appointments in Windsor which was a real saviour as it took the journey stress away. It was also easy to fit my holidays around my treatment which was great as it stopped my treatment being the be all and end all and I could carry on with my life.
In the middle of my treatment, I spent 2 weeks visiting friends in Belgium, Germany and Holland and after my treatment finished this June, my wife and I went on a Mediterranean cruise taking in Rome and Florence and ticked off a bucket list goal by returning to the UK on the Orient Express. That was wonderful!”
Dr Yong Du comments “Denver has had an excellent response to the 177Lutetium PSMA therapy and hasn’t suffered any treatment related toxicity or side effects. Something he would most likely have experienced if he’d had chemotherapy.
The largest of his lymph node tumours has reduced from 4.8cm to 1.2cm in size and the smaller ones have mostly resolved. In addition, his PSA level has dropped from 199.0 to 0.91 at his recent blood test.”
Denver concludes, “Going forward I’ll have blood tests every 3 months to monitor my progress. But for me, the success of this treatment lies in the fact it’s enabling me to maintain a good quality of life and the time to embrace the things I love, like visiting my family in America and exploring Europe.”
Find out more about the prostate cancer treatments we provide HERE